It's a Wonderful Life Furuba Version
by Priestess Mayumi
Summary: A depressed Hatori Sohma makes a wish on a stormy night. As he lives it, will he regret what he wished for? *based on the movie It's a Wonderful Life*
1. Prelude to a Nozomu

It's a Wonderful Life (Furuba version)

A/N: I've always loved Hatori Soma, and who wouldn't? He's cute, and sensitive…well, you get the gist. I always have always loved the movie "It's a Wonderful Life". It's one of my favorite Christmas movies. For those of you who have never seen it, the main character is a man named George Bailey. All through his life he does tiny things to help others while sacrificing his own personal happiness. When his kindness gets him into trouble, he attempts suicide. An angel named Clarence saves him and shows George what the lives of his loved ones would have been like without him there. George realizes that he really did have "a wonderful life", and his friends end up repaying his kindness and getting him out of trouble. So, I decided to do the same sort of thing with Hatori. It might get a little angsty, so you've been warned.

Disclaimer: I really do not own Fruits Basket or It's a Wonderful Life…really.

Rated T just for safety…shouldn't be anything objectionable though.

**Chapter One: Prelude to a Nozomu**

Hatori sat out on the porch, only half aware of the soaking rain pouring down on him. His head was buried in his hands, and he was silently rocking back and forth.

It had happened again. Akito had gotten a hold of Yuki and they'd had some "playtime". By the time Shigure had come to pick up the young boy, he was a frightened wreck, not responding to anyone or anything. If that hadn't made Hatori feel guilty enough, the horrified look on Tohru's face had made him feel like a traitor.

Why could he never do anything but cause others pain? He shivered violently as he realized why Tohru's eyes had scarred him so…

…they looked exactly like Kanna's had that day.

He'd failed to protect Yuki from Akito. He'd caused Tohru pain by having to see her friend in that state.

Why? Why couldn't he have stopped that?

He thought about all the people he'd let down in his life. The mental list went on and on: family members, schoolmates, crushes, etc.

Why?

His heart was aching as he sat there on the porch, totally and completely alone in the world. He had no one to speak to. Akito refused to see him, and it wasn't exactly like he could face Shigure's house…not with Yuki there.

Hatori dug his nails into the palm of his hand and barely winced when blood started coming out of the puncture wounds. What was the point? He had no use in the world. He wasn't needed by anyone…in fact, everyone he knew would be a lot happier if he were gone.

Even as a teen, the cursed Soma boy had contemplated suicide. Now that he was a doctor, his death could be not only quicker, but easier. He had access to an unending supply of needles, injectants, gases, pills, etc. However depressed he was, though, Hatori had no intention of committing suicide. He couldn't bear to cause those around him that kind of grief. The thought would torment his damned soul for all time.

"Perhaps…" Hatori mused, "it simply would have been better if I had never been born."

The thought had scarcely left his mind and mouth before he felt a cold wind brush against him. Unprepared, he put his arms up to block out the freezing air. When the breeze subsided and Hatori's arms left his face, he noticed suddenly that it had stopped raining.

_That was fast,_ he thought to himself. It had been pouring rain a moment ago, but now there were no signs that even a drop had fallen from the sky except for the muddy ground. Sighing to himself, Hatori pulled himself up. He needed to get back to Akito before she started throwing a fit. As he stood, he was again surprised to find that his clothes were dry. Hadn't he been soaking wet a minute ago? _I must be losing my mind,_ Hatori thought.

Walking down the surprisingly-un-wet wooden porch, Hatori realized that the care he was taking not to slip was unnecessary. It wasn't slick at all, though it should have been after the storm. He was beginning to wonder if he had simply imagined the rain altogether.

"Who goes there?" The shrill voice bit through the night. Looking up, Hatori saw Miyu, one of the servants. Thinking it was too dark for her to see him in the night, he called out to her, "It's me…Hatori."

"'Hatori' who? You know that you're not allowed in the main house!"

Now Hatori was sure that he'd either misheard terribly or gone crazy. 'Hatori-who?'? Not allowed in the main house? "Miyu, it's me: Hatori Soma. How's Akito-sama?"

Miyu grabbed Hatori's arm and dragged him inside the house so that she could see him in the light. She scrutinized his appearance for a moment. "What are you doing here? To who are you related?"

Blinking, confused, Hatori wondered if this was a either a joke or a very bad dream. "My parents are Eichi and Shizuru Soma."

Miyu's eyes widened and before Hatori even knew what was happening, she stepped forward and slapped him right across the face. "I don't know who you are, but you picked the wrong family to pretend to belong to. Shizuru Soma has been barren for years. She and Eichi have no children. Now, get out of here before I call the police!"

"But…Miyu…"

"OUT!!!"

Hatori could sense the rage emanating from the woman, and so he turned and frankly ran away. He didn't understand. His mother childless? It made no sense.

Perhaps he'd had way too much alcohol. He needed to talk to someone to get him straightened out. Taking a deep breath, he walked out the front gate of the Soma house and into the night, towards Shigure's home.

A/N: Well, hope you liked Chapter One! BTW, I made up Hatori's parents' names.

_Next time: Serenade of the Inu_ (my chapter names will always give a hint about what's next!)


	2. Serenade of the Inu

Thanks so much for all the support I've gotten so far! Please continue to read and review No flames or bombing (unless you're Roy Mustang, Karasu, or Gokudera).

Chapter Two: Serenade of the Inu

Hatori shivered his way all through the dark forest to Shigure's house. After being evicted by Miyu, he'd tried to get his car, only to find that it was suspiciously missing.

_If Aaya took it again and wrecked it, _his mind growled, _I'll mop up the floor with his hair._

Anyway, he was hoping that his long romp through the woods would get him sober even before he got to Shigure's. Worse case scenario- it didn't work and when he got to his cousin's house, his drunken personality would sober Hatori up right. Perhaps Tohru-kun could make him something to bring him to his senses. He enjoyed the young lady's cooking very much. It got lonely having to make his own meals all of the time. His mother hadn't cooked when he was a child, so Hatori had learned how to cook to avoid the toxic poison that was take-out food.

Finally, he could see the warm light pouring out of Shigure's house. A little bit of sanity started to drip back into his mind. Climbing up the steps to the house, he straightened his shirt and rapped on the screen door.

The house was awfully quiet. There wasn't any familiar Yuki-Kyo fighting emanating from the house. None of Shigure's self-witty laugh. None of Tohru's happy, carefree voice admonishing them all to get along. It worried him.

He heard the soft pit-pat of feet coming down the wooden floors inside the house. The door slid open, and Hatori came face-to-face with a stranger. Sure, it looked like Shigure, but it couldn't possibly be.

The man at the door raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Yes?"

With that one word, the entire world came crashing down on Hatori. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be true. "Shi-Shigure. Please. Look at me for a moment. Tell me that you know me."

Shigure squinted for a moment before saying, "Okay. I'll play along. Yes, I know you. Who were you again?"

Hatori jumped onto the porch and took Shigure by the shoulders. "It's me. Hatori."

Nodding slowly, Shigure smiled patronizingly. "Okay Hatori. Come in and have a drink."

Hatori nodded. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give him a speck of comfort and hope.

The moment Hatori stepped inside the house, he regretted it. The place smelt like garbage. Not surprising, since the entire place was filled to the brim with it. It was like a landfill…disgusting.

Shigure hopped over a pile of pizza boxes and who knows what else to a cooler in the middle of the room and pulled out two beers, tossing one to Hatori and opening the other for himself.

"It's a mess in here."

"What was that?"

"What's Tohru-kun going to say when she sees this sty?"

"Who?"

_No. That can't be. She can't be gone too! _"Tohru Honda. Your housekeeper?"

Stroking his chin, Shigure chuckled. "A housekeeper? Now, there's an idea! A cute, high-school girl to keep house for me. I like it."

A dread came over Hatori. "You…mean that Miss Honda's not here?"

Shigure shook his head. "I don't know any Tohru Honda, though I do like that name for a girl."

Hatori slumped onto the floor. He was trying to find any glimmer of normality to catch himself on the crash down. Struggling for something, anything, he clung to something he knew. "Yuki and Kyo! They'll understand. Where are they?"

Shigure, silent for a moment, was taken aback. "My…cousins Yuki and Kyo? At the house, I suppose."

The gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach kept getting bigger and bigger. "The house…as in…the _Soma house?_" What the heck were Yuki and Kyo doing there? This was getting to the point where nothing would surprise Hatori. What was going on here?

Breaking the awkward silence, Shigure said to his guest, "Well, you're welcome to stay here for the night. I'm expecting a visitor, but I doubt she'll mind one more."

"No, thank you." It was just too much for Hatori. He couldn't take it any more. He needed to get away. "Thanks for the hospitality, but I must be on my way." Taking a look at the beer in his hand, he considered it for a moment and then tossed it back to Shigure. In his current mental state, he was in no shape to be drinking alcohol.

Shigure shrugged and opened Hatori's beer, chugging it down like it was water. Hatori turned to leave, not believing what he was seeing, when the screen door opened and a specter-like figure entered the room.

"Well," smiled Shigure. "You're right on time…"

_Next time…Chapter Three: Symphony of the Daaku Hoosu_


End file.
